Agony of Defeat

Jen and I were in DC last week for a show. We were staying in the Suburbs because driving and parking our giant white panel van around town did not seem like a good idea. (I wanted to put a turban on and drive by the White House honking, Jen said no). Anyway we had to take the subway to get downtown and see the sights. We had dinner and took the train home. The train was packed with Washington Capitol fans returning from game 7 against the Penguins. It had been a great series with several overtime games and arguably the 2 best players in hockey. The Penguins killed them getting out to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd period. You have never seen such an angry, disconsolate group of people (outside of Kyle field) in your life. They were all in bright red Caps jerseys and hats. They were griping, moaning and cussing. I know how they felt.

Baltimore beating the Cowboys in the Superbowl. We were jobbed.
Texas beating the then #2 Ags in '75, getting a 17 point lead in 90 seconds. I am still PO'ed.
Plano beating Highland Park by 1 point in '78, when the Scotts had a 28 pt halftime lead. Plano went on to win the State championship. Bastards.
F***ing 49ers and Dwight F***ing Clark and Joe F***ing Montana in 1979. Danny White still almost won that game.
Romo fumbling the snap for a game winning chip shot field goal against Seattle. Dummy.

I had better stop. I am getting worked up. I know exactly how the poor Capitols fans feel.
I root for the Cowboys, Aggies, Rangers, and Mavericks.

I Had a Dream

I always have loved team sports over individual sports, though of course I still enjoy watching golf, tennis, etc., so it may seem odd that my sports fantasy involves an individual sport. In my sports fantasy, I win the women's downhill in the winter Olympics. I am the fastest, strongest, bravest of them all. I am the female version of Franz Klammer, flying down an icy mountain on the very edge of disaster, making split second decisions, using every last measure of strength to hold my line, keep my tuck, stay on my feet. Just me and the mountain. Even the thought of it is exhilarating. I think Klammer's gold medal run in 1976 gave rise to this fantasy. Of all the fantastic games, matches, meets, bouts, and races that I have seen, that run remains the single most exciting event I have ever seen.